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SUBMARINE GUN.

No. 582,352. Patented May 1l, 1897.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. E. HESSE 8a N. G. DE POOH.

SUBMARINE GUN.

Patented May 11, 1897.

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SUBMARINE GUN.

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es PETERS on. Puoaurno, wnsmuma UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GUSTAF EMIL HESSE AND N ILS GUSTAF DE FOOH, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK,ASSIGNORS TO GEORGE H. ROBINSON, TRUSTEE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

SUBMARINE GUN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 582,352, dated May 11,1897.

Application lcd August 3, 1895. Serial No. 558,106. (No model.) Patentedin England August 13, 1895,11'0. 15,229; in France August 13, 1895, No.249,612, and in Germany September '7, 1895, No. 87,951.

T0 all whom it may concern,.-

Be it known that we, GUsTAE EMIL HEssE and NILs GUSTAF DE FOCH, residingin the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Submarine Guns, of whichthe following is a specication, and for which we have obtained patentsin the following countries, Viz: England, No. 15,229, dated August 13,1895; France, No. 249,612,

'dated August 13, 1895, and Germany, No.

87,951, dated September 7, 1895.

This invention consists, mainly, in certain combinations, hereinafterdescribed and claimed, whereby two or more connected breech-loadinggun-barrels arranged to revolve around a common center are adapted to avessel for firing one after another under water through the bow or wallof the vessel.

XVe will first describe our invention in detail with reference to theaccompanying drawings and afterward point ont its novelty in claims.

Figure 1 of the drawings represents a central vertical longitudinalsection of a submarine gun having three barrels and of the forward partof a vessel to which said gun is fitted for firing through the bow; Fig.2, a plan View of the gun and the bow of the vessel. Fig. 8 represents acentral vertical lon gitudinal sectional view of the forward part of avessel and of a submarine gun thereon having only two barrels. Fig. 4 isa plan view corresponding with Fig. 2. Fig. 5 represents a transversesection taken in the line 5 5 of Figs. 1 and 2; Fig. 6, a rear view ofthe gun and its frame corresponding with Figs. 1, 2, and 5. Fig. 7represents a transverse section taken in the line 7 7 of Figs. 3 and 4;Fig. 8, a rear view of the gun and its frame corresponding with Figs. 3,4, and 7.

Similar letters and numerals of reference designate corresponding partsin all the iigures.

vWe will first describe the invention with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 5,and 6.

A A A are the gun-barrels, which are arranged parallel with each otherand held together by strong encircling disks, bands, or

yokes B B B2, of steel or other metal, of cir- 5o cular form, the saidbarrels being arranged with the center lines of their bores at equaldistances from the common axis of said disks or yokes, about which thebarrels are arranged to revolve, and' at equal fdistances 55 or keelsonof the vessel E, and the aftermost standard being represented as set upon a deck D, from .which the gun is to be worked. The foremost standardC has cast or forged with or otherwise firmly secured to it a fixedmuzzle F, which is common to all of the bar- 7o rels and which is builtinto and projects through the bow of the vessel below the line to whichthe vessel is submerged for service and at such distance below the axisabout which the gun-barrels revolve that the barrels may be successivelybrought opposite to the iiXed muzzle and there secured bya sliding pin(l, inserted through a hole in the cradle G, which is formed at thebottom of the rearmost standard O2, and throughthe 8o proper one of thethree holes e provided in the rearmost disk or yoke B2.

The foremost disk or yoke B is represented as iitted to a taper seat orbearing a, provided for it in the standard C, and as held up to saidseat or bearing by means of a ring H, which is bolted to the saidstandard by screwbolts b and which overlaps said disk or yoke B. Betweenthe seat a and ring H there is a packing c to serve as a gas-check. Thisring 99. H may serve to receive in part the recoil,

though that is received mainly by the cradle G, which is formed in thebase or lower portion of the rearmost standard Cand portions of whichproject upward, as shown at 10 in 95 Fig. 1 and at 11 11 in Figi 6, inrear ofthe rear disk or yoke B/the said cradle thus constituting arecoil-block. VThe foremost disk This frame is repre- 6o or yoke isrepresented as furnished with a pivot o, which enters a bearing in thestandard C.

The revolving of the barrels may be effected by any suitable power-as,for example, an electric motor-but we have represented for that purposeahand-gear consisting of a shaft I, mounted in bearings on the standardsC C2 and furnished with a hand-wheel f, to be worked from the deck D,and with a pinion g, gearing with teeth h, provided around the disk oryoke B'.

A single breech-block J is provided for all the barrels, being insertedin each one in its turn. This breech-block is represented in Figs. l and3 as externally screw-threaded and iitted to screw-threaded seats in thebarrels, the screw-threads on said block and in said barrels beingrespectively mutilated at intervals, so that the block may be pusheddirectly into and withdrawn from the barrels and screwed up thereintoand unscrewed therefrom by a partial revolution. This kind of blockbeing so well known requires no further description.

K designates the carrier (represented as a tray) in which the said blockslides to and from the barrels and by which the said block whenwithdrawn is swung aside to permit the insertion into the barrels of theprojectiles L and the cases M, containing the powder by which they aredischarged, the said tray being hinged to the recoil-block by a hinge12.'

N is the toothed rack attached to the breechblock and gearing with apinion on a shaft t', which is fitted to the tray and turned by a crankk to move the block to and from the barrels.

P is the pinion engaging with teeth (not shown) on the breech-block andworked by a hand-crank Z for the purpose of turning the said block.

The muzzle F is fitted with a sliding valve F' inside the vessel for thepurpose of shutting out the water at all times but when the gun is to begot ready for discharging the projectile, when the latter is pushedforward in the barrel and into the muzzle, as shown in Fig. l. Thisvalve may be operated by any suitable motor or mechanism. In Figs. l, 2,5, and 6 the operating` mechanism represented consists of a screw m,worked by bevelgearing n, and a horizontal shaft p, which works inbearings on the standards C C C2, and furnished with a hand-wheel nwithin reach of the deck D.

In the gun shown in Figs. l, 2, 5, and 6 the barrels are counterbored aconsiderable distance in front of the breech-seat to a caliber a littlelarger than that of the rest of the barrel to which. the projectile isfitted, the counterbore terminating in a shoulder q, as shown in Fig. l,and forming an air-chamber to prevent injurious local pressure on thegun at the time of firing. To the said counterbore is fitted a metaldisk o", which is attached to a piston s, which is of a size to fit thebarrel in front of the counterbore.

To provide, before firing the gun, for pushing the projectile forward inthe barrel for the two purposes of entering it into the fixed muzzle Fand of obtaining the full capacity of the air-chamber, there is a pipet, by which compressed air from a reservoir or compressor is introducedinto the chamber through an inlet-aperture u in the cradle orrecoil-block Gand inlet-apertures u', of which there is one to eachbarrel in front of the position which is reached by the face of thebreech-block. The said openings u' are continued through the disk oryoke B2 in such positions as to range with the aperture u when thebarrels are respectively in position for firing. lVhen a barrel has beenbrought to this position and locked by the pin CZ and has received thepro--.,

jectile and the powder-case and the breechblock has been properly placedand secured in its seat in the said barrel and the valve F has beenopened, the pipe t is opened, and the compressed air being thusintroduced to the said barrel forces the piston, and with it theprojectile, as far forward as permitted by the disk fr, which is stoppedby the shoulder q, as shown in Fig. l, holding back the piston.- Thesaid disk, though strong enough to bear the pressure of the compressedair, is destroyed by the force of the powder in the discharge of thegun, from which it is driven out with the piston after the projectile.

The foregoing description will, so far as the same letters are used inthe drawings Figs. l, 2, 5, and 6, illustrating one example of ourinvention, and the drawings Figs. 3, 4, '7, and S, illustrating theother example, apply to both examples, and with regard to the lastmentioned example we will now brieiiy describe those features in whichit differs from the first example.

The two revolving-gun barrels A A are represented as made in the samebody of metal, which is furnished at the ends with central pivots QJ andr2, the pivot v turning in a bearing in the foremost standard C and thepivot in a bearing carried bythe cradle G. The valve F is represented asoperated by means of two toothed racks w, attached to the said valve,and pinions w on the shaft p. The piston s and the means for introducingcompressed air into the gun-barrels are dispensed with, an air-chamberbeing formed directly behind and around the taper rear part of theprojectile and the projectile being intended to be pushed forward by arammer or other suitable means.

Vhat weclaim as our invention isa l. The combination of a vessel, two ormore connected breech-loading gunbarrels arranged to move around acommon center within the vessel, a xed muzzle arranged in the bow orwall of the vessel and common to all of said 4barrels, a recoil-blockstationary within the vessel and-common to all of said barrels, onebreech-block common to the sev- IOO IIO

eral barrels, and a carrier by which said breech-block is attached tosaid recoil-block and in which it is movable to and from the barrels,substantially as herein described.

2. In a submarine gun, the combination of two or more revolvinggun-barrels, one muzzle common to all of said barrels, one removablebreech-block common to all of said barrels, each of said barrels havingan air-inlet forward of the position reached by said breechblock, anencircling yoke connecting said barrels near their breeches and havingairinlets corresponding with those in the barrels,

stantially as and for the purpose herein de scribed.

GUSTAF EMIL HESSE. NILS GUSTAF DE FOCH.

Witnesses:

.0. J. BUsHNELL, FREDK. HAYNEs.

